Herdsmen: Is Benue’s anti-open grazing law a right step?

For me, I think the anti-open grazing law is a right step in the right direction. It is long overdue. If this had been conceived and executed long ago, we would not have had unending carnage, the rape of women, cattle destroying farmland and the consequent clashes. If we want to look at, for instance, Ekiti State, which has something similar and now Benue State, we can recommend that this initiative be replicated in states having the same problem. I mentioned Ekiti State earlier because there is a similar law like that and since that law was put in effect, we have not heard of herdsmen and local people or farmers clashing.

It is not good seeing animals roaming and animals running into traffic, thereby sometimes causing accidents and loss of lives. In decent climes, you cannot see such a thing. For Benue State to take that decision is a good one. I think other states should also imitate this. Let us see if the implementation would be carried out to the letter. Let us see if the implementation would be carried out with due respect to all parties. It is a good move and it will stop the carnage and the needless clashes we have been having for years. I understand there are some people criticising the law.

The reason is that they want the implementation to be delayed a bit. When you look at the carnage that we have witnessed over the years, every citizen of Benue State is itching for the law to take effect immediately. There was a notice. But then, I think the state government will also play its part by doing what it will take to ensure that all parties are at peace. •Philip Jakpor (Head, Media and Campaign, Environmental Rights Action)

I think the ban on open grazing by Benue State is in order and should be emulated by other states. If we look at it, herdsmen have been ravaging and destroying farms, killing farmers who resist their attempts to use their livestock to destroy their farms. This has caused sorrow and pain in many homes especially in Benue State, but this is not limited to Benue State. The herdsmen have killed and they are still killing and destroying farms in the South-West, South East and South-South. So, I think any step taken to end this carnage and massive destruction of property should be commended.

Even in the South-West, there are retirees and others who borrowed money from banks and other sources to start farming, but they lost their investments to the atrocities being perpetrated by these herdsmen. The fear of herdsmen is making many who are interested in farming to have a rethink and it is forcing some out of farming because they keep recording losses due to their activities. Apart from killing during clashes, these herdsmen have caused accidents especially on highways when their cattle stray into traffic. We should not continue to tolerate the needless killings.

I have read that the ruthless herdsmen are those from other neighbouring countries but we still need to ensure that there is no open grazing in any part of Nigeria in order to stop these people from moving into our country and committing crime. To ensure that herdsmen are also encouraged to continue making money from their means of livelihood, I think the government can encourage ranching where animals would be bred and raised for commercial purposes. This, I think, will be more profitable to them and the nation.• Mrs. Rita Adeleye (Lecturer, Geology Department, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti)

I haven’t read through the law, but if the law in Benue State is like that of Ekiti State, I don’t see anything wrong with it. If the law is enforced to the letter, then I think it is perfect and it should be replicated in other states and even signed into law by the Federal Government. Personally, I do not believe that the acts of criminality being reported are actually being perpetrated by genuine herdsmen. I don’t believe they are Nigerians. This is because cattle rearing does not involve crime and criminality.

Fulani men had been rearing cattle before I was born and were doing so in a very peaceful manner and they never fought with anyone. But the ones of today are forcefully invading farms which I feel is nothing short of criminality. What Governor Fayose did in Ekiti State seems to have restored peace in the state. We don’t hear about the excesses of herdsmen in Ekiti State.

You cannot invade farms and destroy crops because you want to rear cattle. The crops also guarantee food security. So, this kind of law enacted by the Benue State Government should be made a federal law so that everyone will adhere to it. •Frank Odita (Ex-Commissioner of Police)

I am a citizen of Benue State and when the circumstances leading to the need to come up with the anti-open grazing law came up, I was part of the discussion. I also gave the governor of the state my personal thoughts as an elder and met with President Muhammadu Buhari and showed him pictures of slaughtered women and children. I also gave the gruesome pictures to the Sultan of Sokoto and told him that this was a tough thing for northerners and urged that we should try to do something as quickly as possible.

I don’t know what happened, but in the case of Mr President, he became quite ill and was not around when the crisis reached its peak. But I also met with the Minister of Interior in my capacity as the Chairman of the Northern Elders Forum and advised him. My advice was simple. We had lived with Fulani herdsmen for over 200 years. I am 82 years old and I have been seeing them since I was a boy. They used to come seasonally and were friendly and interacted with the natives of Benue. I know about this because I lived in the Tiv area. Suddenly, this new breed of Fulani herdsmen look strange and it seems their activities are different from the ones we knew before. Maybe they felt their cattle were more precious than human lives and they became very violent.

There were conflicts and the conflicts continued to increase and it came as a shock to the people of Benue that the people who used to come seasonally and were peaceful became hostile and it was very surprising. I warned of an impending crisis. The killings started and involved the burning down of hamlets. I knew that the state government would be in trouble if it didn’t take quick action. These herdsmen became emboldened to the point that anytime anyone went near their cattle, they would attack. When they saw that no one was arresting them, they increased the rate at which they were killing and AK-47 rifles were used freely and I reported.

So, Governor Ortom was under pressure by his people to enact that law. About six months was given to the herdsmen to set up ranches after the law was passed but instead of doing so, they continued to complain until the deadline lapsed. The law is not against any tribe because it bans everyone whether Tiv, Idoma, Fulani or Yoruba from open grazing. The governor also owns a ranch in Benue State; so let those who want to rear cattle go and buy ranches. • Paul Unongo (Chairman, Northern Elders Forum)

I do not know of any country where anyone can just enter into somebody’s farm and his cattle would begin to consume crops and when the owner of the farm complains, the cattle owner shoots, kills or rapes the person. I think that is very wrong and totally unacceptable. The anti-open grazing law will restrict the cattle men to certain ranches and not allow them to just go anywhere they want. It is a right step in the right direction. I think that other state governments, including Edo State, should follow suit and protect the lives and property of innocent people. They (herdsmen) have the right to move along the road but they do not have the right to trespass on people’s private property. The fundamental right to liberty is not an absolute right. Their own right stops where other people’s right begins. So, the right to freedom of movement does not give them the right to unleash their cattle on other people’s land to eat crops. They also have no right to carry arms. All of us, as Nigerians, are legally obliged to rely on the security agencies for our protection.

There must be strict compliance with the provisions of the law because if the law does not have teeth, it would be useless. It should not be a cosmetic sort of law. There should be no emotion about it because the problem with the cattle men has become one of national and international concern. • Dele Igbinedion (Benin-based legal practitioner)

While implementing the anti-grazing law of the Benue State Government, the ACF wishes to urge the government to take into consideration the historical ties between the herdsmen and farmers that have lived peacefully over the years and ensure that the rights of each are protected as guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution.

Furthermore, adequate facilities and routes of migration should be provided for the herdsmen to avoid unnecessary and avoidable clashes.

The Benue State Government should also embark on a sensitisation campaign to enlighten both the farmers and herdsmen on peaceful coexistence for mutual economic and social benefits.•Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim Biu (Spokesman, Arewa Consultative Forum)

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